Mr. & Mrs. Earle

Here’s one for the “I’d rather have been in Telluride but. . .” annals. Sold out on Ticket Web, with zero availability on Stub Hub: I did not let this deter me from a 125-mile Saturday jaunt to Nash, where “Steve Earle with the Dukes and Duchesses” was slated for a show in the relatively tiny 3rd & Lindsley Cafe off downtown. After parking on a dime parallel to the venue at 5:25, I worked the doors line (it started moving at 6 p.m.) front to back, where the 47th (approximately) and last-at-the-time person in had an extra meant for a no-show friend, peeling it off and vending it my way at face value. Haven’t done this in that town since the Jayhawks’ reunion at the Belcourt, where I got scalped goodtime.

Steve’s mother was in attendance, though the persistent “welcome home” shouted out to him went right off his back; I think south central TX and NYC have better claims on that. Still, he made multiple references to his time in middle TN throughout. “F— BP” was the most political he got in the first set, but union workers, teachers (!), and immigrants all got praise during the last half of the evening. The obligatory “Copperhead Row” was song one of set two. Justin T got some words, mainly along the lines of him having stolen a gun from papa as a teenager, shortly after Steve got out of jail and the troubled youngster was turned over to his care “by one of my ex-wives.” The current one glowed–didn’t know she was such a multi-instrumentalist: keys, guitar, tamborine, more I think. AM did three songs at end of first set, with Steve off-stage, including a rousing cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Going to Come.” Will Rigby was fine on drums, and the bassist (long-time but can’t recall name) even fronted one of his own songs. Steve called it his finest band ever, with the husband-wife duo of The Mastersons along for pedal steel/guitar and fiddle respectively. It was good to see them again, as they shared a bill in Birmingham earlier in the summer with Shannon McNally which I enjoyed.

Special shout-out to “musiclover1” from this Forum, who approached me on the strength of my Little Honey t-shirt: instant bonding. Wardrobe is important at such events.